Nepal nominated as Chair of the EIF

Kathmandu, July 25

Nepal is nominated, by consensus, for the first time from Asia, as the Chair of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Board for the year 2019-2021.

Mani Prasad Bhattarai, Ambassador/Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Nepal in Geneva, will represent the country for this position, said the mission in a statement. 

Established in 2007, the EIF is the multilateral partnership mechanism initiated by the World Trade Organisation which is exclusively working for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to support their better integration into the multilateral trading system.

The EIF mechanism is the partnership of 51 countries (47 LDCs and four graduating LDCs), 24 donors and eight partner agencies working closely with the governments, development organisations and civil society to assist LDCs to use trade as an engine for development and poverty reduction.

"It extends technical and financial support to LDCs and works as a platform to leverage further resources in collaboration with other development partners and government ministries in trade sector," read the statement.

In Nepal, EIF has supported for trade mainstreaming, human resources development, institutional and productive capacity building.

Three projects, namely, Pashmina Enhancement and Trade Support Project (PETS), Ginger Project and Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) Project are underway since 2012.

The handover and takeover of the chairmanship will take place in September.

Previously, Benin, Sierra Leon, Ethiopia and Lesotho have assumed the role as the chair of the EIF Board.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 July 2019.